Carbon Sequestration Begins at Loam. . .

Have you sequestered your carbon today? Do you even know how to sequester carbon at home? Or where to do it? A garden produces oxygen, grows food, provides shade and all those other amazing things that gardens do. It can also keep that nasty carbon dioxide away from our atmosphere, at least for a while.

The plants themselves, as well as the soil they’re growing in, can reign in carbon.

But we don’t usually look at, or even notice, our soil. Dr. Christine Jones, Australian soil scientist states, “If you could see what happens around the roots of actively growing plants, you would want to have as many green plants in your soil for as much of the year as possible.”

Plants need carbon dioxide in order to grow. As we know, they in turn provide us with oxygen. Woody plants (especially trees) take carbon out of the air (during photosynthesis), keep it locked up and release it slowly, so its impact is minimized. How much? Well, it depends on several factors, but the dry wood in trees can be around 50% carbon (http://www.sustainable-gardening.com/how-to/sustainable/carbon-footprint). So yes, the more plants the better!

The soil is also a receptacle for CO2. Soils store one-third of the carbon on Earth (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-helps-organic-soils-store-more-carbon/).  In fact, according to the UN “Organically managed soils can convert carbon dioxide from a greenhouse gas into a food-producing asset. Combined with sequestration in non-agricultural soil, the potential for land to hold carbon and act as a sink for greenhouse gases is unparalleled”.

So what can you do in the campaign to sequester carbon? Plant some trees! And stop treating your soil like dirt and get out there and sequester some carbon!

-Paula Henson